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Ebon Shadow's Graceful Daughter
Ebon Shadow's Graceful Daughter, Shadow's Grace for short, is the First Age incarnation of Dax Stormslayer that was alive during the Usurpation. She was a beautiful, graceful figure with waist-length scarlet hair and typically a sarcastic, intelligent, somewhat cynical look in her eyes. History The Sidereal archives in Yu-Shan tell of a legendary Night Caste Solar called Ebon Shadow’s Graceful Daughter — Shadow’s Grace for short. Shadow’s Grace did not quite believe she deserved the power the Unconquered Sun gave her. She had not fought in the Primordial War, inheriting her power instead when a greater hero fell in that conflict’s final battle. Life as a spy and assassin, maintaining the peace of the fledgling Old Realm, did not suit her; she thought the Eclipse Caste better suited her temperament. She prayed daily, begging the Unconquered Sun to change either her caste or her spirit. He knew better and ignored her pleas: The needs of peace do not match those of war. He wanted an assassin who would not enjoy her job too much. Yet, someone heard the prayers of Shadow’s Grace. One Calibration, she rose from prayer to find a mighty figure before her: Four-armed like the Unconquered Sun, but glittering in shades of darkness. Five Days Darkness, the first shadow cast by the Unconquered Sun, offered to teach her a regimen of exercises and meditations that would resolve her doubts and make her truly the Queen of Night. In return, she would share his teachings with other Exalted. These teachings would form the basis of the style now known as Ebon Shadow Style. She would also swear on her soul to perform one service in each incarnation at her divine sifu’s request without question. So desperate was Shadow’s Grace to quiet the turmoil within her heart that she accepted the dark god’s terms. She absorbed her sifu’s teachings before the end of that very Calibration and took the name by which she is remembered in Heaven. The archives say Shadow’s Grace became a paragon of her caste who taught evildoers to jump at shadows and gave restitution to their victims. Her service to Five Days Darkness is not known. The Sidereals are fairly sure that she perished in the Usurpation. Now, her Exaltation shines again in the heart of Dax, and he too has been contacted by Five Days Darkness in his dreams. Dax has found her weapons, her tomb, her snake, and her airship. He now works to fulfill the tasks laid before him by Five Day's Darkness, who has become his sifu as well. Final Transmission This is Shadow's Grace, making my last, and henceforth only, entry into the logs of the Coatl. The dragon-blooded trying fruitlessly to repair my ship have decided they've done a good enough job, and seeing as nobody has encountered my ghost yet they assume I'm appeased. Well, I'm not appeased, largely because I'm not dead. Fortunately they seem to have really believed this death, so I can hopefully get some real work done in the future. I intend to leave this ship here, along with the panoply of shadow, and will take only my weapons and armor where I'm headed. The rest I leave to what I hope to be my next incarnation, which is hopefully you who are watching this. As a security precaution, because I don't trust this tomb, I'm extracting the core pieces of equipment of all of the Coatl's vital systems, including the memory cores with the ship's logs. Sorry, Shade. This should tear its fate lines well enough apart that it should be considered "destroyed" by... well, I shouldn't really explain that, especially to you. *tear flicker* Poor bastard. Anyway, tell Cid I'm sorry I didn't wake him up to say goodbye. And tell Serentatis that the shadows have always watched him. Again, this is Shadow's Grace, preparing to disappear one last time... and take down a horde of those damned jade dogs with me. Category:Sunlight on the Water Category:SotW NPCs Category:Dax Stormslayer